The poultry industry is a high demand, high volume industry, in which a bird is required to consume high energy and nutritious feed, therefore having feed available to eat from the feeding systems is paramount when the bird is hungry.
Existing feeding systems comprise multiple feeding pans connected together with a supply tube and within it, an auger transfer means, in long rows the length of the barn. All pans will be filled with feed when the system turns on to fill the pans. The auguring feeding system is supplied by an intermediate feeder hopper at one end of the system. When the supply hopper becomes empty, it is refilled by a supply from a main storage tank outside of the facility.
Switches and/or other sensors are used in the feeding systems to activate the feeding system to feed the pans. Additionally there is a switch needed to fill the intermediate hopper, which requires replenishing as the feeding system draws feed from the intermediate hopper.
Currently within the industry there are two main types of hopper control designs which are utilized: a flap design and a suspended design.
The flap design relies on being inside the hopper among the flow of the feed. The feed will depress a micro switch, by an expanding pressure applied to a flap placed in front of the micro switch. This design is a very simple idea, and has been a very common method of control, but has many shortcomings. One of the biggest challenges in the flap design, is that the hinge that the flap operates, becomes greasy from the feed ingredients, and becomes clogged up with dust and debris, and becomes stuck in either a run or stopped position, which creates difficulties to the equipment or the livestock. If it is stuck in the run position, the motor is receiving a run signal from the switch, and is functioning on its backup safety shut-off switch by the motor, and is operating in very short, loaded cycles, which is very taxing on the electric motors. Alternatively, when the switch is stuck in the stopped position, which is the most common, the feed system will not fill the line, which is now running empty, causing wear and tear on the equipment, wasting energy running motors which are accomplishing nothing, and livestock may be in a situation where there is no feed present to consume and creates duress and loss of production in the animals.
In addition to the flap sticking in a position, there is also a micro switch with mechanical components that are exposed to the feed or dusty environments. While the flap may be free to function, the mechanical device controlling the micro switch fails to operate, causing the same problems as the no feed situation as mentioned earlier.
There are several other problems with the flap design. Feed can build up and jam the flap within the frame, preventing it from operating properly. Feed and buildup can form on the flap, creating a mass, and preventing the flap to extend outwards to start filling again. Livestock occasionally hit or bang into the hopper, where the switch is mounted inside and can cause it to bounce or shake, causing the motor to start and stop quickly, reducing the lifespan of the motor. The starting amp loads through the micro switch repeatedly can cause premature failure and burnout. Sometimes certain components are made up of plastic which wear and/or break. Micro switches commonly burnout or become clogged and fail to function properly and reliably. Sometimes they simply get damaged and bent or broken from installation errors or neglect.
The suspended design operates by hanging in-line to support the hopper. It operates without the need to be within the flow of feed and is a superior method to the flap design. One example of this design is called the “Harkin's Hopper Control Switch” and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,753). It has been a very reliable method of controlling the feed supply to a hopper, but it has its own shortcomings. There is a required contact between two members to activate the micro switch. This method creates a couple of challenges and causes some inefficiency. The contacting flange is not square to the axis of its operation. Being made of cylindrical materials, the outer member is able to rotate on the second inner member. The micro switch is affixed to the second sliding member and when the first member rotates around, because the flange is not square, the micro switch is not able to contact the flange. Thus, the feed system will run empty because the switch has fallen out of its range of adjustment. Likewise, when the flange rotates and creates a constant contact on the micro switch, the hopper will continuously fill, and activate the motor back-up safety switch, and short cycle the motor until it is corrected. Again the switch is out of adjustment.
The suspended design utilizes a micro switch attached to the second sliding member, which has a protective cover intended to prevent dust and debris from effecting the micro switch, and also acts as a means to secure the micro switch within the electrical enclosure. The protective cap fails in a short period of time, and allows the environment to attack it, and it will become sticky from dust and/or insects, and thus will fail to operate due to dust and debris, or moisture or water from washing the facility will enter the switch and cause it to burn out.
Additionally, the affixed micro switch enclosure, which is user adjustable, is made from plastic and breaks easily, rendering the whole device useless.
The contacting method of the suspended style device relies on the second member to contact the first member, where the flange will activate a micro switch, which is permitted to travel approximately ¼ to ⅜ of an inch, from the closed position of the contact switch, to its released, open position stopping power to the electrical motor. This switch design is very easily bumped and banged from livestock, and regularly runs short electrical cycles, even when it is running normal operating cycles (about 5 to 10 seconds). This repeated action causes premature failure in micro switches and electric motors. Micro switches burnout regularly.
Thus, each existing switch still presents an opportunity for a no feed situation to the livestock, creating an event of stress and inefficiency in the production cycle. These events cause lost production and quality, and in many times, especially in the case of weight gain, a bird or producer may never recover from.